美国与以色列长期合作因国家利益

A US navy commander says the long standing relationship between his country and Israel is in America's "national interest."

The comments came as the two allies carried out a joint missile defense exercise in the Mediterranean Sea on Thursday.

About two-thousand US and Israeli military personnel are participating in the operation. The goal is to test new methods of intercepting missiles capable of transporting nuclear, chemical, and biological warheads.

The US is deploying 17 warships equipped with radar systems to detect surface-to-surface missiles during the drill.

The exercise has underlined the strong alliance between the two sides, despite recent spats over Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking.